Mystery

Red Sky at Morning

Title: Red Sky at Morning
Author: Steve Wilson
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Reviewer: Elizabeth Beard

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1618080350

When Marine Lieutenant Michael Neill is ordered to the former Soviet Union, his assignment is to verify nuclear disarmament. But before his mission begins, an American reconnaissance plane is attacked by a Russian fighter, and a Navy pilot is killed. After the incident, Neill’s mission changes.

Willis Avery, the President’s National Security Advisor, wants Lieutenant Neill to investigate Russian stealth technology, in addition to his original assignment. Photographic evidence—and the lack of radar images of the attacking aircraft—lead the American intelligence community to conclude that something new has been developed in the skies over Russia.

Avery believes that Neill’s friendship with a high-ranking officer in the Ukrainian Air Force is the key to establishing Red Sky at Morning—the existence of new aviation technology that could upset the balance of power between East and West. However, ultra-nationalist forces are at work. After arriving in Eastern Europe, Neill quickly uncovers a conspiracy of terrorism secretly instigated by the Kremlin. Government leaders in Moscow will stop at nothing to rebuild the Soviet Union as they try to force the breakaway republics back into the fold.

Neill discovers that the terrorism has extended to the weapons facility he is charged with inspecting. Communist agents have gone far beyond their original orders, and it’s a race against time as the Marine—with the help of a beautiful Ukrainian journalist—tries to stop them—and come up with a plan to bring down the corrupt govenment officials in Moscow.

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Wilson, Steve

Brothers Lost

Title: Brothers Lost
Author: David Michaelson
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Reviewer: Barbara Peacock

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0984842209

Twin Navajo brothers are separated at birth and sold illegally to finance their mother's desire to become a veterinarian. They are a product of a bad forced marriage-a man lacking in honor and integrity. "Bends Like The Willow" grieves for her horse when her drunken husband kills it during a race. Unable to save her horse, she vows to learn the skills needed to heal all animals. A shady underground organization specializing in the illegal purchase of children handles the transaction for a hefty price. The twins grow up in affluent but very different families. One becomes a decorated Navy SEAL. He is abducted and imprisoned by a rogue U.S. military-run drug cartel when his assignment to investigate the drug problem in the military uncovers the true kingpins. The other brother is an ordinary Certified Public Account who endures a nagging feeling that he has a brother in trouble. Edwin Collingsworth sets out to find his sibling, eventually locating him in a prison camp in Colombia. With the help of a former Navy Seal turned professional surfer, the two extract the brother lost. The two brothers plan their revenge on the rogue officers and break open the investigation begun by a Congressional Committee. They locate their long-lost birth mother and convince her to return to the Navajo Nation to clear her name, allowing her to become a legitimate Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. The brothers learn about honor, forgiveness, love of family and many of the old ways during their search for their mother and brothers lost.

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Michaelson, David

Call Sign: Wrecking Crew (Storm Warning)

Title: Call Sign: Wrecking Crew (Storm Warning)
Auhtor: David McKoy & Lynn Hallbrooks
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Reviewer: Joyce Gilmour

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0982792352

CIA Special Ops Team, Call Sign: Wrecking Crew is sent overseas on a Top Secret mission. Once the mission is completed, they rapidly realize they are merely Pawns in an International Chess Game that turns into a Political Firestorm. As a result, they are disavowed. Accompanied by Firefights, Fate, and Faith, they finally find a way home. After arriving, they discover governmental abuses of the Constitution. Will they survive long enough to thwart these enemies of the State?

Author(s) Mentioned: 
McKoy, David & Hallbrooks, Lynn

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense - Definition and Evaluation Criteria

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense genre may be broken up into two categories depending on the number and type of books submitted in a given year. They share many of the same elements and the aim is similar -- to entertain and excite the reader. The author does this by heightened expectation, surprise, uncertainy, unknown villains, and terror. He/she uses literary techniques like cliff-hangers, plot-twists, and clues that lead the reader to wrong conclusions. 

Black Wings

Title: Black Wings
Author: Kathleen Jabs
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Reviewer: Jim Greenwald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): B006KJ198W

Lieutenant Bridget Donovan suspect the worst when her Naval Academy roommate, Audrey Richards, perishes in a botched take-off from an aircraft carrier. The Navy says it's an accident, but facts
don't add up. Could it be a suicide, or murder? Donovan's unofficial investigation into what really happened, both during their past Academy days and Richards' final hours, forces her to examine the concepts of honor, justice and the role of loyalty in pursuit of those ideals.

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Jabs, Kathleen

Pages